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MG Midget and Sprite Technical Heel and Toe BBS discussion at MG-Cars.net
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MG Midget and Sprite Technical - Heel and Toe
I just changed my throttle pedal to a 1500 type, so that I can more easily attain a full throttle opening with the SU HIF44 that I installed. With the old organ pedal, heel and toe was just perfect for my size 7 feet to manage. The new pedal is so far away from the brake pedal that it is just not possible now to do a heel and toe. Other people must have come across this. The question is, do I just reset (bend) the pedal nearer to the brake pedal or do I attach something to make the throttle pedal wider and thus nearer the brake? What have other people done? I thought I might as well ask before I start mangling bits and pieces, possibiy unnecessarily... Thanks Roly |
| Roly Alcock |
| Wear clown shoes? :-) Rich "Size 9, can heel and toe his organ pedal unmodified, but then I do have mighty long legs too" |
| Rich Amos (1 Sprite 1 Midget!) |
| (I'd make it wider, by the way) |
| Rich Amos (1 Sprite 1 Midget!) |
| Reform it...bend it towards the brake pedal! |
| Dave O'Neill 2 |
| Hey Roly, This is a mod I want to make also, Did you use the 1275 linkage with the 1500 pedal, just curious...vic brit shows the linkage as the same just wasnt sure, thanks prop |
| Prop |
| Hi Prop The pedal assembly is just one long bent rod from foot pedal to where the throttle cable attaches. Thats the only bit I changed. Rich My wife thinks I drive like a clown sometimes! She won't even travel in the car cos it does not have a rollover cage. I tell her that I am not intending rolling the car over.... So far the vote is split. Cheers Roly |
| Roly Alcock |
| Hi Roly As recommended by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich... bend it, bend it, just a little bit... I have size 11s... sometimes with boots on I can very nearly heel-and-toe the clutch and accelerator... A |
| Anthony Cutler |
| No need to bend it - just get an alloy pedal extension off the Bay - can't remember who makes / made them but they turn frequently.. |
| d brenchley |
| Richbrook do a set of three screw-on pedal covers including a widened one for the throttle. I think Momo do the same stuff. They'll be in Halfords next to the bass cannons and under-car uv lights... |
| Jordan Gibson |
| Um, I meant neons of course :o) |
| Jordan Gibson |
| No, no, UV light sounds good. For growing herbs underneath your Nova... |
| Rich Amos (1 Sprite 1 Midget!) |
| the screw on pedal covers don't like the accelerator pedal as it has too much curve. I'm sure it could be flattened with some metal putty if you were determined, but I have the momo pedal covers on the other pedals and have to wear narrow shoes to avoid clipping the brake when coming off the power |
| Will Munns |
| I recalled seeing those pedal extensions advertised under the Paddy Hopkirk label, and I see that Moss lists them: http://www.mossmotors.com/Shop/ViewProducts.aspx?PlateIndexID=29412&SortOrder=1 That's Moss USA, of course. Hopefully Moss UK will have them as well. Cheers, -:G:- |
| Gryf Ketcherside |
| I see that that Moss in the UK do. Does anyone knwo the difference between these two options that come up on the same page:- GAC8428X Throttle Pedal Extension To 1976 £5.95 900-315 Paddy Hopkirk Throttle Pedal Extension £21.95 Roly |
| Roly Alcock |
| Gryf, Moss shows this as appropriate for an MGA or an MGB. Will it work on a Spridget? Organ pedal and/or pendant pedal? David "cautious soul" Lieb |
| David Lieb |
| £16. Tada! A |
| Anthony Cutler |
| Roly, I know short people sometimes have booster cushions on the seat & blocks of wood on the pedals if thats any help to you. Can't you refit the original organ pedal & modify the carb linkage? I made my own linkage for my DHLA, saved the 50 quid that Demon Thieves were asking for one. Brad |
| B Richards |
| I've got gurt big Sparco plates on the brake and clutch with standard 1500 throttle pedal. I can't heel-and-toe because folding my knees under the dashboard means pointing my feet the wrong way :-( I end up with the heel on the brake pedal which kinda doesn't work........was thinking how to fit a flappy paddle 'box so I could left foot brake like I do when karting, when it all seems so natural! |
| Max T |
| >>> Moss shows this as appropriate for an MGA or an MGB. Will it work on a Spridget? Organ pedal and/or pendant pedal? <<< I'd guess it would work for either, although the physics involved might favor the hangy-down pedal. -:G:- |
| Gryf Ketcherside |
| Thanks for all the responses guys. Goes to show that there are different ways of addressing the same problem. I think I'll have a go at taking a photo of my feet on the pedals and seeing how far adrift I am. Cheers Roly |
| Roly Alcock |
| Roly, don't let anyone see you when you're sitting in the car and pointing a camera down towards your lap, they might get the wrong idea! The Hopkirk pedal extension should do the trick for you or you can remove your pedal and weld another plate to it that fits your needs exactly. A bit of expanded metal tacked to the pedal makes a neat non-slip surface. |
| Bill Young |
| >>>>>>>>>>was thinking how to fit a flappy paddle 'box so I could left foot brake was just thinking. Now I've got that hydraulic clutch release bearing thingy. Could it be piped into a hand operated mechanism on the gear lever? There must be a way of reducing the pedal pressure required.....Hell, it could work :-) ....and I'm only half-joking |
| Max T |
| >>> Now I've got that hydraulic clutch release bearing thingy. Could it be piped into a hand operated mechanism on the gear lever? <<< Hm... maybe you could use a brake lever and master cylinder from a motorcycle. -:G:- |
| Gryf Ketcherside |
| We went through the hand operated clutch exercise about a year ago for a young lady who had leg problems and didn't want to give up her MG. There are a lot of problems to overcome, and the motorcycle idea isn't bad, but the usual auto clutch needs much more pressure and more fluid volume than most hand units can deliver. |
| Bill Young |
| Max, if it's just for racing, i.e clutch On, clutch Off, you could use a triumph gearstick mounted solenoid switch, which operates the clutch master cylinder via an overdrive solenoid. You'd just have to get the stroke & / or pivot correct for full clutch disengagement. Ebay: 150298182565 260303835589 |
| Brad (Sprite IV 1380) |
| Brad, you're on to something. Anyone remember the Lotus 77? Ronnie Peterson drove it in about 75/76. Hideously complicated, with an electronic clutch button on the gear stick and FOUR pedals (one brake pedal either side of the steering column, and a proper clutch for the start IIRC) Could do the same thing I suppose, manual clutch for starts and electronic solenoid for downshifts. Reckon I could save a couple of seconds a lap if I could left foot brake. |
| Max T |
| Max, i tried teaching myself left foot braking, in company cars of course, gave up on it as i was too used to conventional braking. If you want to go paddle shift, then it gets complicated really quickly, but if you retain a manual clutch & manual gearchanges then it should be do able. You will need to operate the solenoid via a relay & i would look at a micro switch arrangement on the gear stick rather than a switch, i.e, as you move the stick, the micro switch sends a signal to disengage the clutch, that way you won't crunch your gearbox. If you want a circuit drawn up, let me know & i'll see if i can draft something in work time. cheers Brad |
| Brad (Sprite IV 1380) |
| Brad, in karting I make up loads of time under braking, which is why I'm keen to left foot brake, but I just can't co-ordinate it in a car. Thanks for the offer BUT.....anyone who knows me will know the paucity of my budget is only matched by the paucity of my engineering skills so this is kind of only a bit of bar-room musing for me....unless someone wants to build it and get me to test it in racing ;-) |
| Max T |
| Max, no worries, if you ever decide to dabble in it let me know & i'll try my best to assist you, cheers Brad |
| Brad (Sprite IV 1380) |
| hi to lighten the hydraulic load to the clutch fit a remote servo , this should make clutch light enough to opporate by hand , just a thought |
| Darren1800frogeye |
This thread was discussed between 26/10/2008 and 29/10/2008
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